Strategy raises $2B, pauses Bitcoin purchases

• Strategy raised $2 billion through share sales but made no Bitcoin purchases last week, keeping its holdings unchanged at 840,447 BTC.
• Strategy’s new USD Cash pool holds $1.59 billion, while its existing USD Reserve reached $5.10 billion.
• QCP noted that Bitcoin’s rally broadened beyond short covering as spot ETF inflows strengthened, with Bitcoin funds attracting $1.92 billion last week.

Strategy (MSTR) raised more than $2 billion through its latest share sales but did not purchase any Bitcoin (BTC) during last week, instead allocating part of the proceeds to a newly established USD Cash pool.

Strategy halts Bitcoin purchases despite fresh $2B capital

In a Form 8-K filing on Monday with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Strategy announced “USD Cash,” a new component of its Digital Credit Capital Framework designed to provide flexible dollar liquidity for general Bitcoin Treasury Company purposes.

The firm said the funds can be used to acquire Bitcoin, pay preferred stock dividends and debt interest, repurchase MSTR common or preferred shares, repay or redeem convertible notes, and increase its existing USD Reserve.

Strategy currently holds $1.59 billion in USD Cash and $5.10 billion in its existing USD Reserve, bringing its combined dollar liquidity to approximately $6.69 billion. The total includes expected proceeds from recent at-the-market (ATM) sales that had not yet settled.

The firm sold 18.26 million shares of Class A common stock (MSTR) for net proceeds of approximately $2.0065 billion last week. It used $136.4 million to repurchase 1.43 million STRC preferred shares, added $300 million to its USD Reserve and allocated the remaining proceeds to USD Cash.

Despite the fresh capital, Strategy made no Bitcoin purchases or sales during the week. Its holdings remained unchanged at 840,447 BTC.

The move comes as Strategy appears to be strengthening its USD liquidity position amid growing concerns surrounding crypto treasury companies.

Strategy has faced increasing scrutiny over its business model and index eligibility, with MSCI recently proposing to exclude the company and Japan-based Metaplanet from its Global Investable Market Indexes under a new framework targeting firms it classifies as non-operating companies.

Bitcoin faces fresh macro tests this week

It also comes amid improving crypto sentiment. Bitcoin posted its strongest weekly performance since March 2024, rising more than 20% and briefly reaching around $79,500 on Friday, according to a Monday report from QCP analysts.

QCP stated that the rally initially benefited from substantial short covering before broadening as spot-market demand strengthened. US spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) recorded $1.92 billion in net inflows during the week.

Bitcoin ETF inflows accelerated through the week, reaching $517 million on Wednesday and $606 million on Thursday. QCP noted that positioning helped trigger the rally before it expanded.

“Positioning played an important role in starting the crypto move, but the rally subsequently broadened,” QCP analysts wrote on Monday.

The broader macro backdrop also remains important for Bitcoin, with markets focused on upcoming US economic data and the Federal Reserve (Fed) policy outlook. The Fed’s preferred inflation gauge, the Personal Consumer Expenditures (PCE) report, is due Wednesday, while Fed Chair Kevin Warsh is set to speak at Jackson Hole on Friday.

BTC is trading at $78,980, up 1.8% in the past 24 hours at the time of writing.